pennyspoetryfandomcom-20200214-history
John Sinclair (poet)
| birth_place = Flint, Michigan, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Poet, writer, political activist }} John Sinclair (born October 2, 1941) is an American poet, and sometime manager of the band MC5, Life Sinclair was born in Flint, Michigan. Sinclair attended the Flint College of the University of Michigan (now the University of Michigan-Flint). During his time at UM-Flint John served on the university's Publications Board and the school newspaper "the word", and was the president of the Cinema Guild. He graduated in 1964.University of Michigan-Flint Yearbook 1964 1960s activism Sinclair was involved in the reorganization of the Detroit underground newspaper, Fifth Estate, during the paper's growth in the late 1960s. Fifth Estate continues to publish to this day, making it among the longest continuously published alternative periodicals in the United States. Sinclair also contributed to the formation of Detroit Artists Workshop Press, which published 5 issues of Work magazine. Sinclair worked as a jazz writer for Down Beat magazine from 1964 to 1965, being an outspoken advocate for the newly emerging Free Jazz Avant Garde movement. Sinclair was one of the "New Poets" who read at the seminal Berkeley Poetry Conference in July 1965. Involvement with the MC5 Sinclair managed the hard-edged proto-punk MC5 from 1966 though 1969. During this period, Sinclair booked "The Five" as the regular house band at Detroit's famed Grande Ballroom in what came to be known as the "Kick out the Jams" shows. He was managing the MC5 at the time of their free concert outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The band was the only group to perform before baton-wielding police broke up the massive anti-Vietnam war rally, calling it a riot. Under his guidance the band embraced the counter-culture revolutionary politics of the White Panther Party, founded in answer to the Black Panthers' call for white people to support their movement. Sinlair served as leader of the White Panther Party from November 1968 to July 1969. Eventually, the MC5 came to find Sinclair's politics too heavy-handed. He and the band went their separate ways in 1969, but they are still friends and he has spoken at their recent reunion concerts, including Massive Attack's 2008 Meltdown at London's South Bank. In 2006, Sinclair rejoined MC5 bassist Michael Davis to help launch the Music Is Revolution Foundation, serving as a general board member. Arrest and imprisonment After a series of convictions for possession of marijuana, Sinclair was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1969 after giving two joints of marijuana to an undercover narcotics officer. This sentence inspired Abbie Hoffman to jump on the stage during The Who's performance at Woodstock to protest. It also sparked the landmark "John Sinclair Freedom Rally" at Ann Arbor's Crisler Arena in December 1971. The event brought together luminaries including rock musicians John Lennon, Yoko Ono, David Peel, Stevie Wonder, Phil Ochs and Bob Seger, jazz artists Archie Shepp and Roswell Rudd, and speakers Allen Ginsberg, Abbie Hoffman, Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, Jerry Rubin, and Bobby Seale.Agis Salpukas, "15,000 Attend Michigan U. Rally to Protest Jailing of Radical Poet," New York Times, 12 December 1971, p. 76. }} 3 days after the rally, Sinclair was released from prison when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the state's marijuana statutes were unconstitutional. These events inspired the creation of Ann Arbor’s annual pro-legalization Hash Bash rally, which continues to be held , and contributed to the drive for decriminalization of marijuana under the Ann Arbor city charter (see Cannabis laws in Ann Arbor, Michigan). In 1972, Leonard Weinglass took on the defense of Sinclair in Detroit, Michigan. The case became United States v. U.S. District Court, 407 U.S. 297 (1972) on appeal to the United States Supreme Court a landmark decision prohibiting the government's use of electronic survelliance without a warrant. Performances, writing and poetry Since the mid-1990s Sinclair has performed and recorded his spoken word pieces with his band "The Blues Scholars" which has included many members including Wayne Kramer, Brock Avery, Charles Moore, Doug Lunn, Paul Ill, amongst many others. He also performed as a distinctive disc jockey for New Orleans' WWOZ Radio, the public jazz and heritage station.Johnsinclair.us On March 22, 2006, Sinclair joined The Black Crowes on stage at the in Amsterdam, and read his poem "Monk In Orbit" during the instrumental break in the song "Nonfiction".[http://www.crowesbase.com/tapelisting.cfm?TapeID=1813 Crowesbase.com 2 days later, he went back onstage at the Black Crowes show in the Paradiso, reading his poem "Fat Boy" during the long instrumental jam following the Black Crowes' song, "How Much For Your Wings?".Crowesbase.com On 20 January 2009, to mark Barack Obama's inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, Sinclair performed a series of his poems accompanied by a live band, featuring Elliott Levin, Tony Bianco and Jair-Rohm Parker Wells at Cafe OTO in Dalston, East London.Cafeoto.co.ukHeadpress.com Recognition John Sinclair Foundation Created in 2004, The John Sinclair Foundation is a non-profit organization based out of Amsterdam, Holland. Its mission is to ensure the preservation and proper presentation of the creative works – in poetry, music, performance, journalism, editing and publishing, broadcast and record production – of John Sinclair. To date, the foundation has produced books, zines, records, and documentaries highlighting John Sinclair's contribution to the historic cannabis legalisation effort, rock music in Detroit, and psychedelic communitarianism. In popular culture John Lennon included his song, "John Sinclair" (which he wrote for the 1971 Freedom Day event) on his 1972 album, Some Time in New York City. Blind Melon also recorded the song, on their 1996 album Nico. On December 1, 2019, the 1st day of legal retail cannabis sales in Michigan, Sinclair was selected to make the 1st recreational marijuana purchase at Arbors Wellness dispensary in Ann Arbor.Gus Burns, "Activist and poet John Sinclair among first to purchase legal recreational marijuana in Michigan, 50 years after his historic arrest", MLive.com, December 1, 2019. Web, Dec. 2, 2019. Publications Poetry *''This is Our Music: Poems''. Detroit, MI: Artists' Workshop Press, 1965. *''A Long Tired Poem''. San Francisco: Free Poems Among Friends, 1966. *''Fire Music: A record''. Detroit, MI: Artists' Workshop Press, 1966. *''Meditations: A suite for John Coltrane''. Detroit, MI: Artists' Workshop Press, 1967. *''I Think I Hear Camels Coming''. San Francisco: Camels Coming Press, 1973? *''I Can't Be Satisfied''. Grindstone City, MI: Alternative Press, 1984. *''We just change the beat": Selected poems''. Roseville, MI: Ridgeway Press, 1988. *''Fattening Frogs for Snakes''. New Orleans, LA: Surregional Press, 2002. *''Full Moon Night'' (with introduction by Dennis Formento). Salt Lake City, UT: Elik Press, 2007. Non-fiction *''Marijuana Revolution''. Ann Arbor, MI: Rainbow People's Party, 1971. *''Music and Politics'' (with Robert Levin). New York: World, 1971. *''Guitary Army: Street writings / prison writings''. New York: Douglas, 1972. Collected editions *''It's All Good: A John Sinclair reader''. London: Headpress, 2009. Edited *''Sun Ra: Interviews and essays''. London: Headpress, 2010. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:John Sinclair, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Feb. 17, 2015. Audio / video Discography Sinclair has recorded several of his poems and essays. On these albums blues and jazz musicians provide psychedelic soundscapes to accompany his delivery: '' *John Sinclair & Ed Moss with his Society Jazz Orchestra - If I Could Be With You (1994) *John Sinclair & Monster Island - Full Moon Night (1994) *John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars - Full Circle (1996) *John Sinclair - V.1 Thelonious:A Book Of Monk (1996) *John Sinclair & His Boston Blues Scholars - Steady Rollin' Man: Live (2001) *John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars - Fattening Frogs For Snakes - Volume One: The Delta Sound (2002) *John Sinclair & Monster Island - PeyoteMind (2002) *''Music is Revolution: From the John & Leni Sinclair library (CD; with Leni Sinclair). Oak Park, MI: Book Beat Gallery, 2000. *John Sinclair - Fattening Frogs For Snakes - Volume Two: Country Blues (2005) *John Sinclair & His Motor City Blues Scholars - Detroit Life (2008) *John Sinclair & Planet D Nonet - Viper Madness (2010) *John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars- SONG OF PRAISE Homage to John Coltrane (2011) *John Sinclair & His International Blues Scholars - Let's Go Get 'Em Let's Go Get 'Em (2011) *John Sinclair & Hollow Bones - Honoring The Local Gods (2011) See also * List of U.S. poets References Notes External links ;Poems *John Sinclair Poetry ;Prose *"Marijuana Revolution" *John Sinclair Writings. ;Audio / video *John Sinclair at YouTube * *John Sinclair's Radio Free Amsterdam *John Sinclair's Detroit Life Radio * ;Books *John Sinclair at Amazon.com ;About * John Sinclair on Arborwiki *John Sinclair b. 1941 at the Poetry Foundation. *John Sinclair Official website. * * *It's All Good on Headpress *John Sinclair Interview *Interview with John Sinclair by Jarrod Dicker * ;Etc. *John Sinclair's cannabis seed company Category:People from Ann Arbor, Michigan Category:Living people Category:1941 births Category:American poets Category:Yippies Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets